Can anyone tell me how it is accepted to thong and be topfree on the beaches in Bali as well as other places in Indonesia?How would locals react or see this? Are there some westerners going topfree and wearing thongs?

Where you go in Bali will determine how many others you see in relaxed attire. Around Kuta, Sanur and Nusa Dua beaches you would be in the company of others and I'd imagine in other beach areas where there are westeners and hotels/resorts catering for westerners it would be similar. However at Binoa (near Nusa Dua) I'd be careful as there I think there are a majority of Indonesians who are muslim and generally speaking a muslim's attitude about attire is quite different. In fact quite puritanical.

I can speak for where I have stayed that it was very relaxed a few years ago. In fact one day on one of the female hotel staff seeing a topless woman in the swimming pool and thinking she was completely naked said "naked no problem" and said tourists can get an all over tan and take it back to there own country. That hotel's staff were Balinese whose religion is hindu.

One thing you might to note is that there is some push bring in a law that would be sharia law by proxy. You may want check the news stories of a few months ago. If it becomes law (I think June was when it would become law) think about going to Thailand instead - there you should have no problems at all.

Hello everybody!! I am planing to go to bali for this November. I was looking for all the hotels and beaches. I don't know how much I can thonging in bali. I have made a reservation at the Legian Beach Hotel, in Legia. Do you know this hotel or beach? Is it posible for a man and a woman to wear thongs there? Please let me know that I didnt made a mistake. If I did, please tell me where I can wear my microthongs from koala.

Hello, Hallo!!
i had planed to fly in november to Bali. i am 27 and going with my boyfriend to get realx and taned in the beaches of Bali. i wear thongs since i am 17 and i only wear thongs when i travel.. now my problem is.. he planed the holidays and givet as a gift for me. he know i love to wear thongs at the beach and if possible at the pool too. now i have a problem Bali is in a muslim country and we know how they are at the moment in cause of other countries. my question is.. where i can wear thongs in bali? i will stay in Legian and the hotel told me its not allowes to wear thongs at the hotel in cause of childern and family guests... so now i need to knoe if its possible thonging in legian or where in bali??
please i am very disapointed and need some advice.
greatings from germany!

Search on the Internet for Bolare Beach Bungalows. It is located further along the beach from Legian but not too far. Towards Canggu area.

I have stayed/visited there on many occasions, a few years ago. There was no problem in wearing g-string/thong for a man or woman or for a woman being topless, in & around the swimming pool area. At that time I was told by one of the staff even a g-string was not necessary. On many occasions, when it was very quiet, I did not wear one.

They welcomed tourists/expats from outside the hotel using swimming pool and sun baking if they ate at the restaurant. Many times I did this.

I can't say what the situation is now. You can telephone or simply go there from Legian to ask and say you were told by an Australian of the relaxed attitude to swimwear in 2004 . I would be interested to know if the same situation still exists.

Hummmmmm. Bali is a Hindu island in a archipelago of Muslim islands that constitute the country of Indonesia. Kuta is the backpacker town immediately next to Denpesar (the capital and largest town on that island). For many years Guruda Indonesia Airlines (national flagship/air carrier) arranged that you had to stay overnight in Denpesar and continue on the following day. It sucks cause you can not travel from Sydney to Jakarta and on to Kuala Lumpur (a real armpit of the 3rd world and capital of Malaysia). Denpesar/Kuta has hosted many decades of international travelers which makes the immediate surrounds tourist friendly/tolerant. Outside of that area I can not speak. You might do some search engine research of nudist or thong friendly resorts. Don't depend on hearsay. Drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't you or anyone that you meet try to sell you the stuff. As you fly into and away from Indonesia or Malaysia you are handed a visa application. On it is a skull and crossbones. That means for ever so smart Westerners and others that are enticed to partake or seek to take some home or elsewhere with them.... Don't !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a death sentence or life in 'Tiger Cages' (prisons with iron bars that don't have any walls except iron bars). Living in one for 5 or 6 years or a lifetime would not be considered a vacation to anyone who has been so blessed. Cover your backside when there or any SE Asia country. Those folks love to 'plant drugs in your luggage' or sweet talk you into big money deals with smuggling drugs. I loved Bali, Jakarta was fine to visit as you switch planes or have to stay overnight. Malaysia and Singapore you can have (please remember to flush twice). Back to track. I have heard of a few resorts that are thong friendly but can't remember any specifics. Always remember you are in Muslim countries that are quite backwards that have religious zealots and uneducated citizens. Be respectful of their culture and mores. Good luck.

A 2006 posting by abczyxabczyx I would never accept as valid! "Anywhere on Bali" is a pipe dream. Don't believe it. Kuta and maybe a few resorts and outlying islands yes. Bali as a whole, I would greatly greatly question. You don't want to have any run ins with the police. Though Bali is mainly Hindu, there is a great percentage of the population this is conservative and Muslim. Best you error on the side of caution and wear a conservative swimsuit (maybe not a thong or a two piece swimsuit) until you have questioned the staff of the hotel or locals where you plan to spend a sunny afternoon or two. By the way I stayed at a backpacker hostel there in Kuta where I payed (during April 1999) less than $3.75 (USA) daily for a room. The 755ml Bintang beers (each) were nearly the same cost. Go check out Lonely Planet before you do any planning to any foreign destination. That is a nearly definitive resource which I have used faithfully for many years. Lonely Planet Bali or Lonely Planet Indonesia or associated books will inform you as best with current valid information. They also give prices on rooms, hostels, amenities, bars, restaurants, gay bars, bath houses, nude resorts, nude beaches, local historical attractions, etc; etc. Frommers may also be as accurate and up to date. These resources are your first step in planning a memorable holiday. Cheers.

My wife, son and I are off to Bali for a holiday in January. I just bought three new thong bathes from the Oboy Web site (they are a German site and have an excellent selection) and won't be wearing anything else. One is a German suit, the other two are Italian. Very nice. They are all micro thongs. We will be staying at the new Ritz Carlton. I'll let you all know how I go but I'm expecting no issues.

Just reporting in... We are staying at the new Ritz Carlton in Nuda Dua. All I've worn for the last three days is a thong bather (the blue and the orange ones you see in my photos). Absolutely no issues or reaction what so ever from other guests or staff. Everyone is universally super friendly, welcoming and nice. I have walked around the resort in just my thong (no cover up at all) , down the beach, in the pool, just as natural as can be and all is super well. I have to give this resort a 10/10 on all fronts, including being completely man thong friendly. There have been a few girls in thong bikini's and guys in speedo and board short styles. I'm the only guy in a full thong but I feel completely comfortable, accepted and welcomed by all. Perhaps the whole of Bali isn't so liberal, but the Ritz Carlton 100% is. It's fabulous. :)

Kuta: the beach is fairly expansive and very wide (at low tide) so you will be able to find a place. It gets more crowed at the Hard Rock hotel end. Sundays though, particularly in the afternoon, it isn't that great because the Indonesians will be there "en-masse" and they do a lot of walking and playing soccer. If you rent a sun lounge it is always polite to ask the vendor first; most probably they wouldn't care less.

Hotels: it depends. Again I'd ask first. You can try emailing before hand but don't be surprised if you get no reply to your questions. The less tourists present the more likely you will have no problem. I have had some good experiences over a lot of years and only two bad experiences. Not initiated by the staff , who were very relaxed about it, but a'hole guests or day visitors.

It has been years since I visited Thailand. On comparing Bali of recent times to my memories of Thailand beaches I am thinking Thailand is more relaxed about thongs/g-string/topless. And for that matter some of the beaches and beach clubs on Sentosa Island in Singapore are more relaxed about this. Although on Sentosa topless women is a "no-no".

Hello everyone,I was in Indonesia, precisely on Nusa Lembogan and Gili Islands, in April this year. After long time of hesitations I finally decided to put thongs on the beach. Me and my wife stayed on bustling Gili Trawangan and I saw neither men, nor women wearing thongs. I saw signs asking tourists to respect local people religion (on this island it was Islam) and the beachwear was acceptable only on the beachFor the first time going public in thongs I chose a less crowded island Gili Meno - and I think that it was a good plan. Pure nature, quiet, white/gold sand, turquoise water. There were couple of resort beach bars offering sunbeds, and all were occupied, but we found a great spot 100m away from one of the beachbars, just off the coastline pathway.Some tourists and locals were passing by - noone said a thing. When I went to the beachbar to buy sth to drink, I put my low-rise tight shorts back on, and still no negative reactions about my thongs. No sniggering, no fingerpointing, etc. but I'm sure it was noticed by other beachgoers because I felt the other women's look and everytime I looked at them, they were smiling. My wife also spotted that the same ladies were constantly looking at my bum when I was walking around the bar. Later on, some young couple decided to stay on the beach next to us. The spoke English and I heard the girl was asking her husband if he had anything against laying next to us. He didn't mind anything. After a couple of days we moved to Nusa Lembogan Island, which is south east of Bali. There were only a few beach spots, and all were crowded, but I decided to wear only thongs for the rest part of out holidays. Nusa L, same as Bali, is Hidu Island. One of the most beautiful places on the island is Dream Beach, and there is a little crowd. There were last two sunbeds unoccupied so we did not have much of a choice. We layed down, started to sunbath, when a local guy came to me and asked if I had paid for the sunbeds. He did not say a word about the thongs.Next to us, there were some young women - no complaints, and felt rather comfortable with a man in thongs next to them. Two of them started to fold their bikinis to get some tan on their bums, one took her top off.On Nusa L. I also saw another couple strolling along the beach in the evening, she was wearing g-strings, and he low briefs.Thongs don't seem to be popular on Bali and neighbour islands, but i did not experiance anything unpleasant.

i was at Gili Trawangan for a week in Dec 16 , i was only in my Thongs when im at the beach with my gf, who's also in her thongs. One morning i was at the beach alone when my gf decided to sleeps in . There were few single ladies where i was laying on my stomach. One lady removed her top , and slept facing up. Another lady i suspect was trying to snap a photo of me when i walked to the sea. No biggie with thongs and gstring at Gili T , even the hotel staff just smiled when they saw me. Despite being muslim, they are pretty liberal / accepting .

Is there a place where I can paddleboard, snorkel, and even surf where the beaches are up to stomach depth and cost efficient? I want to do a solo trip where I just thong at the beach, eat, go back to the beach, maybe hike at a nearby beautiful trail, eat, sleep at the beach?

I plan to do a solo trip to Bali next April
First time there. So I will appreciate any info about Bali thong friendly places :)

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